‘Unacceptable Act Of Censorship’: Top Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Slams Twitter For Suspending Trump  

Top Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has slammed Twitter for permanently suspending US President Donald Trump by terming this action as an “unacceptable act of censorship.”

“In my opinion, the decision to ban Trump was based on emotions and personal political preferences. Don't tell me he was banned for violating Twitter rules. I get death threats here every day for many years, and Twitter doesn't ban anyone (not that I ask for it). Among the people who have Twitter accounts are cold-blooded murderers (Putin or Maduro) and liars and thieves (Medvedev). For many years, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have been used as a base for Putin's "troll factory" and similar groups from other authoritarian countries,” Navalny wrote in a series of tweets.

Navalny further expressed that there are several deniers of the ongoing pandemic on Twitter who manage to express their views freely. Yet, Trump being banned publicly and ostentatiously indicates the selectivity employed in his case.

The leader explained that there have been several examples of private companies enabling the state to censor opposing views in countries like China and Russia and indicated that Twitter could be an example of the same. He mentioned that Trump’s removal from Twitter will act as a precedent to silence opposing views across the world.

Alexei Navalny is known to be a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin was even allegedly poisoned by the country’s security forces on 20 August 2020.